9 of Cups – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince

Our Collective Feelings

If you’re feeling edgy or antsy, I want you to know you’re not alone. Not by a long shot. If you feel like you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop or perhaps sense some inchoate dread percolating just under the surface, you’ve got company. And the weather – I swear, it’s mirroring the reality of what so many of us are experiencing emotionally. The heat of summer is here too soon. It’s breaking records. And the humidity is oppressive, plain and simple. Our collective feelings are on display for all of us to enjoy.

Realizing we’re not in this alone can be helpful. There is comfort in shared concern.

I decided to ask the Crone to share some wisdom with us tonight. Of course, I’m referring to my Tarot of the Crone deck by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince.

As usual, my question was straightforward: What is our best strategy to navigate what we’re about to encounter?

I chose the 9 of Cups, with the IX Hermit underneath, giving the entire situation context.

The first thing I notice is that both cards are 9s, which generally represent completion and endings. And we’ve had this card appear to us before (last July).

Nine of Cups ~ Healing

“I am the Many and One

I am whole who has been broken

I am the power of redemption

I am the renewal of creation

Two unusual beings, with ribbons of red life spiraling through the serene lavender of their skin-like cloaks, touch and twist and merge in the creation of something wonderful, whole and new. The Nine of Cups represents healing of the heart and soul: when what has been separated comes together again, when feeling flows free and true, when you are aligned with your greatest good, when you become more than you believed you could. The authenticity of your self is not subsumed by bonds with others, but is enhanced through acting with integrity and love.”

Underneath this card that’s enticing us to embrace a state of healing is the Hermit card. I love the perspective on this card that the author/creator gives us:

IX – Hermit

“I speak

No one listens

But I know what I know

The Hermit is a bag lady rejected by and rejecting comfortable society. She stands on the street of a faceless city, her own face exposed and eloquent. Her dress is a blue that recalls the depths of ocean and sky and the boundlessness that lies beyond their shallow edges. She carries her bags in both hands because she’s learned that balance gives her endurance. She is alone but her isolation is the result not the goal of her journey. Where she goes, others cannot follow. She seeks the mystery at the core of life, at the core of herself. She looks for the magic that exists even in the most artificial environment. She seeks answers to questions that have not yet been born.
The Hermit says look to yourself for the answers, look into the worlds inside you and the uncharted realms within, behind and beyond the ordinary. There are secrets only you are meant to discover and truths only you can divine.”

My Take

We’re all in this together, and if we recognize the power of our interdependence, we can heal the pain, discord, and chaos we’re creating. Yet we’re each responsible for our own perspective, as well as the decisions that flow from how we interpret all that’s occurring around us. This is a time for all of us to step up and take responsibility for ourselves and, yes, each other.

We can do this. It’s time to end the insanity. But in order to achieve a state of healing we need to sit alone with ourselves and take an honest look at what lies within our core – each one of us, individually. It’s time to discover the secrets we’ve been hiding from ourselves. Only then can we move forward together.

(T-171)